Home and garden news: JennAir’s Noir gas rangetop, elevated patio lighting and an artsy furniture partnership

Here are this month’s news, buys and curiosities in the world of home and gardening.

Retail

Cassina is in the midst of a North American expansion, with new showrooms set to open in Seattle, Los Angeles and Toronto.Supplied

Made in Italy

Cassina (cassina.com) is in the midst of a North American expansion, with new showrooms set to open in Seattle, Los Angeles and Toronto. Founded in 1927, the Italian design company is known for combining traditional craftsmanship with technological skill in projects that involve prominent designers and architects including Gio Ponti, Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola (the latter has been Cassina’s art director since 2015). The expansion will offer North American clients first-hand access to Cassina’s approach to living spaces, which mixes together decades of statement-making housewares. “You can combine the whole history of design in one single room,” CEO Luca Fuso says. “This makes it possible to create an atmosphere that is pretty unique because only with our collection can you have such a big span of time and the combined different minds that have been addressing the same problem in a different period and with a different imagination.” At 13,000 square feet over two storeys, the Los Angeles location, opening this May, is set to become the brand’s largest showroom

With spring and patio season in the air, lighting designers are elevating devices that extend afternoon al fresco gatherings well into the evening. New portable lighting options with batteries powered by USB for easy recharging are everywhere. At Hay, the Mousqueton lantern can be placed on a surface or suspended from its top handle, a carabiner-like feature that gives the lamp its French name.

Hay Mousqueton portable outdoor lamp, $280 through us.hay.com.

Inspiration

Wall power

Two Toronto-based visual-arts powerhouses have teamed up to put the spotlight on emerging female artists.

Throughout April, Tacit (tacitcollective.com) will be taking over the lobby of the Modern Wing at the Drake Hotel (thedrake.ca) for a series of four week-long exhibitions, each marking the debut solo show of artists Maxine McCrann, Marcia Bianchi, Alyssa Goodman and Anji Woodley. Tacit founder Nuria Madrenas says that her long-time admiration of the Drake’s art collection and commitment to supporting local artists made the partnership a natural fit. Plus, the non-traditional venue encourages a homier interpretation of the artworks. “Most exhibits take place in gallery spaces, with stark white walls and bright lights, whereas these shows will be in a hotel lobby with dynamic decor that is conducive to the way the art may look in someone’s home,” Madrenas says.

Obsession

American Amish furniture company Abner Henry recently released a new collection of seven designs, each of which was created in homage to an artwork at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Supplied

Furniture gallery

American Amish furniture company Abner Henry (abnerhenry.com) recently released a new collection of seven designs, each of which was created in homage to an artwork at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Paying tribute to classic works by Degas, Klimt, Manet, Renoir, Seurat, van Gogh and Velazquez, the collection marks the museum’s first partnership with a luxury-furniture producer. Ohio-based Abner Henry spent more than three years developing the collection, which resulted in some groundbreaking techniques and features including 24-karat gold that was hand blown into wood grain and a solid slab of 3/8-inch thick brass polished to a mirrored finish.

Investment buy

Range rover

Ranges take pride of place in meal making and kitchen design and that means there’s a lot of pressure on getting their aesthetic and function right. JennAir recently played host to a group of Canadian design insiders in Palm Springs, Calif., to highlight this combination of good looks and practicality. “Most appliances are seen only from the front. But with the range, there’s the vertical sightline and, on the countertop surface, that horizontal sightline. It’s the only appliance where you see both,” says Aleem Kassam, principal at Kalu Interiors. JennAir’s Noir gas rangetop boasts 20,000 BTU of power that can be dialled down to a delicate 1,650 for precise simmering. It also sports elegant lines that work as well in a colourful, mid-century modern desert home as they do next to the moodier Nordic oak of Kassam’s contemporary Vancouver loft. What you choose for your own home often comes down to the details, like JennAir’s knobs that are discreetly laser-etched with a lace pattern. “It’s like the red sole of a Louboutin shoe,” Kassam says.

JennAir Noir 36-inch gas rangetop, from $5,749.99 through jennair.ca.